A Side Quest
by N.Burnett
Summary: A woman that's been harassing Jason's dreams appears on the Argo, making a request of the Argonauts.


Jason could hear the boards creak under his feet as he made his way to the top deck. The wind hit him hard, ripping away any dizziness that he might had had. Leo sat cross legged wrapped in a blanket. Jason walked all the way up to him, Leo not giving any sign of noticing him. he had a glazed-eyes look, staring straight ahead, searching the horizon. "Leo?"

Leo shook his head, leaving his deep thoughts, and looked up at Jason. Leo's eyes went from serious to, well, Leo, as he blinked a few times.

"Sorry, bro. Spacing." He smiled. Jason wasn't convinced, but he wasn't exactly up for heartfelt talks so he added it to the long mental list of things to deal with later.

"Your shifts over, my turn with Happy Dragon." Jason sat down next to Leo and took the blanket from him. "Go to bed."

Leo stood and stretched up on his tippy toes. "Don't have to tell me twice," He threw a quick G'night over his shoulder as he made his way below deck.

Jason smiled until Leo left, then his face dropped. He rubbed his eyes but her face was still there. The woman from his dream. Every night her voice got louder, her face more vivid. She had told him she was coming to him, but he convinced himself otherwise. Every time he closed his eyes, she was there. Her eyes were white and had a evil glow to them -

Don't start that now. Focus, focus...

It was technically Piper's turn for lookout, but the idea of pretending to sleep in his bunk while someone who wanted to sleep was up didn't seem to make sense.

He tapped a beat out on the deck with his foot, watching the clouds sail by. It was nice to see the scenery. They didn't usually get these chances during battle. It had been errily calm recently, but no one complained.

He looked down had his worn out sneaker, and then back over the rail to look for something attacking felt sparks on the back of his neck. Something was - no. The skies were silent. No one was there. But still...

He looked back down at his shoe...

The burn hole made from an attack three days ago left his green sock exposed. He touched the edgy still sticky with the orange juice Piper used to put the flame out. Jason smiled at the memory. Piper was in a flurry with apologizing for the orange juice, asking him if he was okay, and scolding him from being reckless, taking on two by himself. In the end he simply kissed her forehead. "I don't like orange juice anyways." She smiled unwillingly.

Gods, her smile.

"Daughters of Aphrodite can do that to a boy."

Jason jumped and whipped around. The woman from his dreams stood behind him. He blinked quickly. Still there. Not a dream. She was young with golden hair in a knot on the nape of her neck. She held herself like she was important.

He stood slowly, the blanket falling from his shoulders. "Who are you?"

"I'd tell you but you wouldn't believe me..." she smirk; an inside joke Jason obviously wasn't privy to. She turned and sauntered across the deck, dragging her hand on the rails.

Jason looked down and pulled his coin from his jeans. He looked back up with a start: she had cross 50 feet of the deck without a sound and stood right in front of him. Her hand fell on his. He couldn't make his weapon.

"Now now, we don't need any of that. I just want to talk." Jason tried to pull away but her grip tightened on his hand, crushing it. He made a strangled sound, but stopped pulling. Any more pressure and she would break his hand. He searched her face. Her death grip seemed like no effort to her.

He expected her eyes to be white, like in his dreams, but they were grey.

"Jason, son of Zeus," she mused, inspecting him.

"Jupiter," he corrected automatically.

She smiled at him. "Ah, that's right. Jupiter. But Thalia is Zeus, no?"

"You obviously know the answer to that." How did she know his name. And Thalia's. He glanced over her shoulder, hoping someone would come up on the deck.

"I know the answer to almost everything." It wasn't being cocky, she said it like it was simply fact.

Jason glared. "Who are you?" he repeated. "What do you want?"

She gave a winning smile. "You can call me Cassie" - another inside-joke smirk - "and I am a profit. Gifted beyond measure in the arts of the future. And I need your help."

Jason pulled back on his hand, "you have a piss poor way of showing it."

She threw her head back and laughed, letting go of his hand at the same time. "Yes, I suppose I'm a bit aggressive." She took a step back.

Jason took his coin in his left hand and flexed his right. Nothing seemed broken.

"And why is it that I should help you? What are you going to do? Kill me? There are plenty of great fighters on this ship. Drop me, Festus raises an alarm, and you're a good as dead, too."

"High praise for a couple of kid demi-gods. I feel as though you might be exaggerating..."

"No," Jason spoke sternly and with conviction. "I mean every word of it."

"Good, because what I need you to do will be very hard, and maybe your little friends can help."

"Again," Jason said leaning back, trying to keep a cool demeanor, " I don't see why I will help you?"

Cassie closed the gap between them and barred him against the railing with one of her arms. "Because if you don't, you will die in a week."

Jason's brows crinkled. "What do you -" he sucked in his breath and looked down. She was pulling a small needle like blade out of his side.

"That was poisoned," she spoke calmly as she backed away again and went to wonder on the rest of the deck. "That's a special blend of poisons I got from an old friend you recently put out of business." She put her hand on her hips and pouted like a girl who just ran out of her favorite nail polish. She mused more to herself than to Jason, "now where will I get my poison?"

She looked back over her shoulder in time to watch Jason crumple to the deck. "Oh honey, just give it a moment."

Jason couldn't keep his eyes open. And when they were, everything blurred together. He leaned forward, one hand on the deck, the other clutching his side which burned.

Cassie's footsteps were loud. And then quiet again. He was surprised again as she was right next to him, seated by him, rubbing his back like a concerned friend. He tried to push her hand away, but he could hardly lift his arm. "Any second now..." she whispered in his ear.

He felt sick, then cold, and then it was gone. She was still touching his back. Enough of that. He sent a spark her way but was disappointed to see that she had already took her hand away. "Easy, Sparky." She wagged a finger as she stood.

Jason, with effort, raised himself off the deck. "And what, may I ask, was that?"

"A little promise. If you promise to do what I ask, I will promise to give you the antidote."

Jason sighed and dragged a hand through his hair. He thought of Percy in Tartarus. "Gods, I do not have time for blackmail," he mumbled to himself.

Cassie smiled. Jason was going to rip that smile off her face -

"Leo, I'm sorry. I slept a little too long, my alarm was shut off for some re-" Piper paused at the top of the stairs. She saw Jason and Cassie.

Piper frowned at Cassie, and looked at Jason. "Who is this?"

Jason opened his mouth, but Cassie spoke first. "Hello Piper! Jason has told me so much about you!" Cassie quickly walked towards Piper and before Jason could stop her, hugged Piper. Jason waited a heartbeat for Cassie to stab her, but instead she pulled back and kept an arm on Piper's waist.

"My name is Cassie, and I needed Jason's help, so he said I could stop on by!"

Piper frowned. "Stop on by? On a ship in the sky? Are you a demi-god or -"

"No," Cassie laughed, "don't be a silly."

Piper was still looking at Jason who hadn't said anything. Cassie looked at Jason as well. He would be happy to run Cassie threw with a sword, poison or no poison, but not when she might hurt Piper.

"Yea, she just stopped on by..."

"That doesn't make any sense, we're on a flying ship in the -"

"Pipes, please," he cut her off. "Stop."

Now she was really frowning. It was Piper's secret blend of concern and 'did you just tell me to shut up?!' face.

She stepped out of Cassie's arm. "Jason.." But he shook his head.

"What's all the commotion?" Came from down the steps. Hazel's head popped up and looked around. Her hair was flat on one side of her head and frizzed to new levels up on the other side. She crossed her arms over her chest. She took in the scene.

"Um," she pointed at Cassie, but looked at Jason, "I'm guessing that's not Frank doing his little shape shifting thing..."

"I hope not," came from behind Hazel, Frank climbing up on deck next, "cus then I'm not too sure on who I would be."

"Maybe you are me," now Leo was climbing up on deck, pointing to himself and then to Frank, "and I'm actually a figment of all you guy's imagination." He gave his best believe-it-or-not-face. No one responded. "No, but seriously, who's the chick?"

Jason sighed, and where were you guys two minutes ago...

Cassie gave a bright innocent smile that made Jason sick. "Friend of Jason's," Piper said through her teeth. Jason may have had Gai trying to kill him, giants rising from the ground, and poison coursing through his body, but at the moment Piper scared him the most.

Girls in silent angry mode was terrifying, and Piper had perfected it.

"Oooooh, is that why you took Piper's shift so you could meet with her. See that makes sens - I mean um," Leo went red and looked from Piper to Jason. "I mean, not that Jason would secretly meet with a girl, um, woman, secretly on the deck. At night. I. Shit." Leo's mouth hung open, for once, out of words to say. Unfortunately, Leo was out of Jason's punching range.

"Actually, Leo," Cassie gave an innocent, girl in desperate need of attention, voice. "Jason was just trying to help me."

"How?" Frank asked. The whole deck looked at Cassie, including Jason. Yea, what exactly am I helping with.

"Jason, the little darling, has just agreed to kill someone for me."


End file.
